In the second round of the Premier League, Liverpool drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest at home. After the match, Liverpool manager Arne Slot attended a press conference to answer media questions.

Andoni, you said before the match that it takes time to get the team back on track and united, but that doesn't mean you didn't expect to win now. You clearly wanted a win badly. How do you feel about what you saw on the pitch today?

I think it's quite clear, isn't it? We were very poor in the first half. I don't think we played well enough or controlled the game. After that, I think we improved significantly in the second half. We played much more actively, moved the ball faster, and with more urgency. I think we performed much better, but it wasn't enough to win the match. I think we paid the price for our first-half performance.

Are you frustrated? You look more frustrated than usual.

Yes, I'm frustrated because you always want to win, especially at home, and losing at Anfield is never a good result. True, we've come back from behind before, like against Newcastle the other day, but ultimately, what changes things is a win—those three points. I liked our second-half performance, but we couldn't complete the comeback, and getting just one point is certainly frustrating.

Talk about the penalty, because it seems you were about to make a substitution, and then they did a quick throw-in, which led to a defensive lapse that resulted in the penalty.

Yes, I can't explain it because I wasn't given an explanation either. I wanted to make those three substitutions about three minutes earlier. The ball went out of play two, three, or even four times during that period, but I still don't understand why the substitution couldn't be completed. I think the fourth official must have had an issue with the substitution board or something at that moment. The fact is, if my substitution had been allowed to go through, that quick throw-in would never have happened, because everyone would have been waiting for the substitution. So if I asked for a substitution—and I didn't just ask once, I even protested the last time the ball went out—everyone, including the fans, was shouting, and everyone understood the situation. But I don't know why they didn't make the substitution. As for the penalty, I'll leave it to you to judge whether it was a penalty or not.

Andoni, tell us about Victor Muñoz. He's made a significant impact for you at crucial moments in two consecutive matches. How satisfied are you with him?

I think Victor was very good in both matches. What I appreciate about him is that... while sometimes he doesn't make the best choices, and there are occasionally fouls, not everything is perfect, but he always tries. He attacks forward again and again, and I really like that resilience in a winger. The other day he earned a penalty, and today he scored a goal. I think he's always a threat. And defensively he's helped us a lot too, so yes, I'm very satisfied with him.

Andoni, how satisfied are you with Wirtz's performance? He was quite unlucky not to score today.

Yes, while acknowledging and accepting that we played poorly in the first half, we were also very unlucky. Because honestly, their goal looked offside straight away, but perhaps because of the position of someone's heel, VAR made that decision. And the goal Wirtz scored... I don't even think Nottingham Forest protested at the time, and we didn't pay too much attention to it either, then VAR made a decision against us. If Wirtz had scored that goal, it would have been very good for us and for him personally, and with the score at 1-1 in the first half, it would certainly have put us in a much better position going into the second half. He also dealt with the second goal very well. He did a great job, and Wirtz was excellent. I trust him very much, very much indeed, and I think we need to find the best way to use him. I think his role on the pitch is very clear. The more matches he plays with us, the better he'll perform, I have no doubt about that.

It seems the deal for Barcola is very close to being completed. Is there anything you'd like to add about what you said the other day and what he could bring to the team?

I can't reveal much information right now. There are indeed some transfers underway, which is normal because these are the final days of the transfer window, but we just have to wait. I hope the squad will be finalized on September 2nd—"This is our team"—so we can work in a stable environment. Right now everything is still full of uncertainty, which is true for every team, but that's the nature of competition. We just need to wait a few more days, and after the transfer window closes, work with the squad we have.

Gakpo clearly provided an assist. Do you also see him as an option on the right wing?

Yes, regarding wingers, I think they need to be adaptable. Obviously, they usually have their preferred position, but we typically analyze the opposition's setup and determine what they need to do on one flank and what they need to do on the other. Sometimes we even decide during the match to swap Nico and Muñoz. I think they need to adapt. To be honest, before we scored that goal, he was one of the players I was going to substitute, but he made a brilliant breakthrough, and then we got momentum, so I decided to let him play for a few more minutes, about three or four, to see if we could use that momentum to score another goal. After the pace of the game slowed slightly, we decided to make that substitution. But whether it was that goal or another one, I think both were very good goals.

Andoni, if you finish this transfer window with four wingers in your squad (which seems very likely), do you think the rest of the squad configuration is good enough to achieve your ambitions this season?

We're still discussing hypotheticals, because we won't know the final squad until September 2nd. You understand? So I think any analysis I can make should be based on when things have settled down. At that point, I'll know who will stay here for the whole season, or at least until January. So since we've already waited throughout the summer, we need to wait another two or three days, and after the market closes, we'll analyze and see what squad we have.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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